Susan Crawford won despite Elon Musk spending tens of millions campaigning for her Republican rival. The Wisconsin Supreme Court is expected to rule on issues of national interest like abortion and vote districting.
Democratic Party-backed Judge Susan Crawford won the Wisconsin Supreme Court race on Tuesday, narrowly preserving the liberal majority in the first battleground state election of US President Donald Trump’s second term.
She beat conservative Republican Brad Schimel after billionaire Elon Musk paid out $21 million (€19.4 million) to campaign for him, including some direct checks to voters in a move that has been questioned over its legality.
“Today Wisconsinites fended off an unprecedented attack on our democracy, our fair elections and our Supreme Court,” Crawford said following her victory. “And Wisconsin stood up and said loudly that justice does not have a price, our courts are not for sale.”
Cases regarding abortion rights and voter redistricting are likely to come before the court, and thus the election was seen as a proxy vote over national issues.
Crawford wins where Musk campaigned heavily
Crawford not only carried major cities, which tend to lean Democratic, but also some rural areas where Musk’s political action committee America PAC committed significant resources.
This included Sauk County, which Crawford won by 10 points despite being carried by Trump during the presidential election last November.
In Brown County, where Musk held a rally on Sunday, Schimel also lost.
Democratic groups expressed outrage at Musk’s intervention, voicing concern that if it worked in Wisconsin, he would try it elsewhere. At the time, the state Supreme Court declined to rule on his actions over a technicality.
AFP
